Poll: Swing states for gun control

Voters in key three swing states preferred President Barack Obama to Mitt Romney on gun control issues, and overwhelmingly support a number of gun control measures, according to a poll released Thursday from an advocacy group.

The survey of voters in Virginia, North Carolina and Colorado found 45 percent of voters trusted Obama on gun issues, compared with only 40 percent who trusted Romney. Obama had the largest advantage in Virginia, where he led Romney 48 percent to 39 percent. In Colorado and North Carolina, his edge was tighter: 44 percent to 40 percent and 42 percent to 41 percent.

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The survey, paid for by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, also found the National Rifle Association had little impact on the presidential election.

“Members of Congress will tell you privately that they agree we need stronger gun laws, but they run scared from the perceived power of the gun lobby,” said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “There is a growing pile of evidence the NRA has built a mythology around their ability to swing elections that has little basis in fact.”

The mayors group has been working to minimize the influence of the NRA, hoping to embolden members of Congress to push for stricter gun control. They have highlighted a divide between the official positions of the NRA and the opinions of its members, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the group’s founder and largest financial backer, has endorsed and spent millions backing candidates willing to buck the NRA’s line.

The poll found only 27 percent of Colorado voters recalled seeing, hearing or reading something about the NRA’s stance in the election. Twenty-six percent heard from the NRA in Virginia, and a mere 22 percent did in North Carolina. Two NRA groups spent at least $12 million attacking the president and boosting Romney, according tothe Sunlight Foundation.

While the NRA may not have hurt Obama’s reelection bid, it’s not clear a pro-gun control stance helped him. More than 40 percent of voters in all three states said gun control was not a factor in their vote. Still, voters expect some action in Obama’s second term: 64 percent of Coloradans, 74 percent of North Carolinians and 71 percent of Virginians said gun control should at least be a “somewhat important” priority for Obama.

In all three states, at least 88 percent of voters favored requiring background checks for all gun buyers. Significant majorities of 55 percent or more also backed laws preventing convicted sex offenders or domestic abusers from carrying concealed guns across state lines. Smaller majorities opposed laws allowing people from other states to concealed carry in their area without meeting local requirements.

The poll was conducted by Democratic pollster Momentum Analysis and GOP pollster Chesapeake Beach Consulting on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. Five hundred voters were surveyed in each state, and there is a plus or minus 4.4 percentage points margin of error on statewide results.

Readers' Comments (13)

If you believe for an INSTANT that every hillbilly, redneck, southern white guy and his entire family won't turn out to VOTE you the heck OUT if you touch their weapons you are delusional. It isn't that the dreaded NRA will step up and make life difficult for those Politicians who decide to touch this live rail, it is the CITIZENRY that will step up and VOTE anyone OUT of OFFICE that decides they will support gun control. It makes ZERO difference whether it is good for the nation to those who fully support the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution .These gun owners believe that the 2nd Amendment is there to specifically put their guns between themselves and an overreaching Federal Government....PERIOD. Touch this one at your peril and don't say I didn't warn ya.

obama and hillary are doing everything in their power to take our guns away by endorsing the u.n.'s position on gun control. They are truly trying to do an end run around the second amendment. Cars kill more Americans than guns. Alcohol kills more Americans than guns. Doctors kill more Americans than guns. Let's ban everything and then we will be in Nirvana.

keithcooper,while you are correct in your statement;not everyone you mentioned fits that category.many others fit in that just simply believe in our constitution,but not the people in government at the moment and would surely vote out,fight or die for what they believe in as law abiding citizen`s!we don`t believe we can just pick and chose what we feel applies and change it at whim to fit our unreal ideologies like gun control will work now,but has miserably failed in the past.this article is also filled with so many incorrect facts it makes ones mind spin.this article was meant for uninformed sheeple to follow the flock and not for the informed free thinker.how does an editor get away with printing such lies or is this type of thing just fine for the profit of selling papers?we the people (gun owners),for the most part are very well informed and will not fall for these mis-truths!

wow,while we apparently only have firearms because of our small male members;i`ve never had to use my firearm because i was smart enough to avoid the dangerous situation or i just manned up and beat the cheap out of some **** talker like yourself!

assault weapons are fully automatic firearms that 99% of americans will never be able to own!do you speak of the ones that look scary to you?that thingy on the top of the rifle?give me a break!misinformed people always trying to force their opinions on everyone else!

"The poll found only 27 percent of Colorado voters recalled seeing, hearing or reading something about the NRA’s stance in the election. Twenty-six percent heard from the NRA in Virginia, and a mere 22 percent did in North Carolina."